The invention relates generally to tea kettles and, more particularly, to a tea kettle having an improved whistle arrangement and construction.
Tea kettles are well known in the art for use in heating water or the like to be used, for example, in making tea or other beverages. Such tea kettles include a kettle body that defines a chamber for receiving a supply of liquid. An insulated handle is typically attached to the kettle body. In addition, the kettle body is typically provided with a pour spout with a passage that communicates with the chamber so that the heated liquid may be poured out of the kettle. A fill opening may be formed in the top portion of the kettle body or, alternatively, the kettle may simply be refilled through the spout.
The kettle body is constructed from a material which will permit direct exposure to a source of heat, such as the burner of a stove. A cap is typically positioned over the kettle spout and a lid covers the fill opening in the kettle body (if the kettle features a fill opening) so that the chamber within the kettle body is maintained substantially closed while liquid therein is heated to boiling. The resulting steam operates a whistle to provide an audible signal indicating that the liquid in the kettle has reached boiling. In addition to the functional purpose, there is a certain nostalgic enjoyment obtained when this familiar sound is recognized, provided that the sound is not unpleasant.
Prior art kettles typically feature a whistle disposed in the cap covering the spout. Examples of such Kettles may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,670,107 to Welden, U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,368 to Hutter, III et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,567 to Yeh and U.S. Pat. No. 6,386,136 to Huff. While such whistles are effective, the tea kettle cap must be removed to permit liquid to be poured from the kettle. This requires the user to push or otherwise manipulate a trigger or the like to open the cap. This additional action may be quite inconvenient when the kettle is full of liquid and thus difficult to lift and maneuver during pouring.
In addition, some prior art tea kettle whistle designs tend to be relatively complicated and therefore expensive to produce and assemble. Furthermore, some prior art whistle designs employ a combination of plastic and metal parts that are assembled using screws. This type of design is unsatisfactory, however, due to the relative difficulty of assembly. In addition, the screws tend to work loose as a result of the heat encountered in combination with the different coefficients of thermal expansions for the different materials.
Prior art tea kettle spouts and caps also typically do not provide straining of liquids as they are poured from the kettle. Such a feature is desirable as it prevents particles in the liquid from being poured into a cup or the like.
With regard to materials used to construct the tea kettle body, prior art tea kettles often use stainless steel because it is scratch resistant and chemically non-reactive. It is also easy to clean and requires no special maintenance. Unfortunately, stainless steel is not a very good conductor of heat and, as a result, such kettles often have a bottom base of aluminum or copper. Such an arrangement, however, still does not provide optimal heating of the liquid contents of the kettle and the connection between the bottom and the rest of the kettle may rupture and cause leakage if the bottom is dented.
Prior art tea kettles have also been constructed from steel covered with enamel (enamel-on-steel). Such tea kettles transfer heat much more quickly than stainless steel and provide more even heat distribution through the walls of the kettle body. As a result, the liquid in the kettle is warmed more quickly. The enamel is durable and chip resistant and protects the steel core from rust and is easy to clean. A disadvantage of constructing the entire kettle with enamel-on-steel, however, is that the kettle becomes relatively heavy (as compared to stainless steel construction) and thus is more difficult to carry and maneuver during pouring.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a tea kettle that permits pouring without removal of a spout cap.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a tea kettle that has a whistle that is economical to construct and that is durable.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a tea kettle that permits liquid therein to be quickly heated.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a tea kettle that facilitates pouring.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a tea kettle that strains liquid.